December 23, 2021: SOAP #4403:  John 15-18

SCRIPTURE:  John (NIV) 18:1 When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was an olive grove, and he and his disciples went into it. 2 Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples.

OBSERVATION: Having a routine is important.  They can become a religious exercise we simply repeat over and over.  A routine can also become a testimony of God’s faithfulness. For the past 12 years, every day (except the day I had surgery on my heart) I have taken time to write a daily SOAP.  At first they were mainly for me.  Then as I posted them on Fb, others started reading them and making encouraging comments.  Then an email list started.  Then Arputharaj, a friend in India, offered to translate them into Tamil. Then Jents Talukder started translating them into Bangla.  Then Mekala Sekhar into Telugu. Then Shafiq Masish into Urdu in Pakistan where Evangelist Shariff Masish has distributed them in crusades.  Then Mekala Sekhar into Telugu.  Then Papiya Talukder into Hindi.  This year they started spreading in Africa.  Pastor Andrew has a vision to see them spread in African countries.  He prints 6,000+ copies each month and distributes them to all the churches around Freetown.  He introduced them to Ghana and Liberia.  Bishop Emmanuel in Liberia has a ministry to pastors in West African countries and this past week started taking laptops to 7 West African countries where printers are ready to begin printing SOAPs.  A conference was held this last week in Kenya (C Owino) to teach people how the SOAPs can be used. 

APPLICATION:  It all started by being faithful to do what my pastor (Dayton Poe) asked me to do.  God has blessed my small, daily faithfulness, with His GREAT ETERNAL FAITHFULNESS!  It is amazing! 

PRAYER:  I ask the SOAP readers to pray for me.  Pray that I will quickly and correctly hear what God speaks to me.  Pray that I will use words easy to understand and phrases easy to translate.  …for the glory of God! Thank you.

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!